From: Interfaith Working Group
Subject: IWG US Senate Charitable Choice Church/State letter
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 00:14:56 -0400 (EDT)
Note: an identical letter was sent to Senator Specter and will
probably be sent to senators in New Jersey and Delaware as well.
September 20, 1998
The Honorable Rick Santorum
United States Senate
120 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Santorum:
We oppose charitable choice in the Community Service
Block Grant (CSBG) (S. 2206). We strongly support
both the free exercise and establishment clauses of
the First Amendment. We do not believe it is
appropriate to give public money to an institution
without oversight, nor do we believe that oversight of
religious institutions is appropriate. No group
using government money should be able to engage in
discriminatory hiring practices; if there is one place
where job discrimination should absolutely not be
tolerated it is in projects funded with money from
taxpayers of all religions, races, family structures,
genders, and sexual orientations. We do not believe
it is appropriate for the government to be funding
religious indoctrination, or for the government to
require people to undergo religious indoctrination in
order to receive basic government services.
Yours in faith,
Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom
Interfaith Working Group Coordinators
--
Interfaith Working Group Religious organizations, congregations
iwg@libertynet.org and clergy supporting gay rights,
http://www.libertynet.org/iwg/ reproductive freedom, and the
215-235-3050 separation of church and state.